


It's Not You

by pannacottafugo



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Best Friends, F/M, Passive-aggression, Pining, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love, kuroo is an idiot, men r fools
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:13:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28760847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pannacottafugo/pseuds/pannacottafugo
Summary: Kuroo Tetsurou may or may not be the perfect boyfriend.He’s got it all down, you note. The cheesiness, the surprising amounts of maturity, the ability to keep conversation going and the good looks.There’s just the small problem that he isn’t your boyfriend.
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Original Female Character(s), Kuroo Tetsurou/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [makkios](https://archiveofourown.org/users/makkios/gifts).



The first time you hear Kuroo tell someone he loves them, it is a whisper of the night that you pretend not to hear. He has an arm around a girl you vaguely recognize from school, and they are looking at each other so in love, so _happily_ , that your heart doesn’t know whether to be warmed by the pure affection or hurt that it is not you there instead. 

You choose neither, instead just picking at your food until the half-hour ticks past and you can make an excuse to leave without sounding rude. Neither of them really notice when you murmur out the carefully crafted sentence about babysitting a sibling and slide out of the seat; they are too taken in by each other. You turn your face away as you head for the door, although you know that neither of them will see you screw your eyes shut and bite your lip to keep the tears from leaking out.

The cold winter night hits you like a truck as you step out of the warm little restaurant, and you relax a little. Your phone has a text from your mother, asking when you will be home, if you need a ride, if you promised to drop Tetsu off. You tap out a brief message in reply, saying that you’ll just walk home. It isn’t too far and you need the time to yourself desperately.

All you can hope for right now is that no one else tries to talk to you on the way home; You do _not_ want to talk or even acknowledge the existence of other people right now. It is an easy thing to do at night in Tokyo; everyone is deep in their own lives, hurrying about their own days and nights with barely enough time for _that_ , forget being able to talk to anyone else. You usually complain about how inconsiderate people are, but now you are thankful for it. 

Your house is almost eerily quiet. Your parents are watching something on television, occasionally letting out a laugh, and your little brother is asleep. You slip into the house without anyone noticing, and head to your room immediately. There, you flop onto the bed and don’t move until the phone buzzes again. 

Groaning silently, you reach for it only to see that it is from Yaku. He’s asking if you know why Kuroo isn’t picking up his phone, and you type out a snarky answer around the lines of why on earth _you_ were supposed to know. He types for a few seconds, and stops. Then, your phone starts to ring.

You slide it onto speaker, and yaku’s voice fills the room. He’s asking if you’re okay; it’s not like you to be passive-aggressive about things like this. You make excuses- it’s been a long day, you’re tired. He doesn’t believe it, you know, but he also doesn’t pursue it. The call clicks off, letting your room fill back up with silence.

* * *

The next day, you’ve got bags under your eyes. Even Kenma looks mildly surprised when you wave feebly at him, and Kai asks what happened. You’re 90 percent sure he already knows what’s up, but still mumble out something about not getting enough sleep.

In a way, it’s right. 

Yaku nudges Taketora before he can ask you anything else, and you manage to get through the rest of the day without any other questions about how you feel.

When you get home, the house is empty. A note on the refrigerator tells you that your dad has taken your brother to the park, and your mother is still at work. 

Halfway through your homework (that you had only started early to keep your mind from drifting to certain things you did not want to think about), your phone buzzes again.

This time it is the one person you’ve been avoiding all day; Kuroo.

“I haven’t seen you all _day_.” He sounds irritated, mildly worried, and you can hear someone yelling in the background. Probably Lev. “Did you even come to school?”

“Yeah. Ask Yaku.”

“I _did_.” More muffled yelling. "He didn’t tell me why you didn’t come to the usual spot for lunch.”

“I figured you and your new girlfriend wouldn’t want to be disturbed.”

“That’s stupid. you’re not a disturbance, you know that!”

“Yeah, because you guys are too wrapped up in each other to notice even if the apocalypse begins. Trust me, it’s okay. I’m okay.” You’d never told him such a bold-faced lie in your life; it shouldn’t have felt so simple to do.

He sighs into the mic. “Alright. if you say you’re okay…”

“I _am_.”

“Fine. see you tomorrow?”

“It’s a holiday tomorrow, remember? And we’re going out as a family so I won't be home.”

“Okay… the day after, then?”

“Tetsu, stop. you don’t need to spend every free day with me. have fun with… whatever her name is.”

“It’s Mirai- and you’re my best friend, I _want_ to spend time with you.” Mild frustration seeps into his tone. He's probably got one hand propped on his waist, like some irritable teacher, you think.

“Aren’t you in practice right now? Finish that first.” You click the call off before he can reply.

* * *

Kuroo shows up on your doorstep with an armful of your favorite flavor of mini puddings after practice.

You let him in.

The silence is awkward, only broken with the sounds of him ripping open a second pudding cup for himself. You barely touch yours, setting it down after a single spoonful. “Why are you here?”

He looks at you, eyebrows raised, and swallows his mouthful of sweet. “Is it illegal to spend time with you now?”

You wish it was- then you’d have a better reason to avoid him.

“No… just… you never show up with _food_ unless you’re trying to apologize.”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. Kenma keeps telling me i messed up.”

 _You did_ , you want to say. But you don’t. “You shouldn’t be doing this if _you_ don’t feel like you did something wrong.”

“So I should leave? Is that what you want me to do?”

“I’m not saying anything.” You want to add that if he knew what you _really_ wanted him to do, then the two of you wouldn’t be in this mess at all in the first place.

“Fine. I guess I’ll just leave then.” And leave he does, taking the leftover pudding cups with him, leaving you in an empty kitchen and the growing feeling that everything is your fault.


	2. Before and After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens, directly before and after the confession™.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UHH JUST A QUICK NOTE!!! this takes place a little here and there on the overall timeline, but definitely BEFORE the events in chapter one.

Kuroo Tetsurou may or may not be the perfect boyfriend.

He’s got it all down, you note. The cheesiness, the surprising amounts of maturity, the ability to keep conversation going _and_ the good looks.

There’s just the small problem that he isn’t _your_ boyfriend.

Then again, it might not really be that small a problem. It’s an even bigger one that you’re his best friend and second closest confidante. The first closest, of course, is the girl who’s got his hand wrapped around her own. Now that you’re actually paying attention, you realize that his bright red jacket is also draped around her shoulders- not that she wants it there. She’s protesting against it (whether it is to seem polite or because she just hates red you can’t tell) and he’s doing his best to reassure her, with one of his rare soft smiles.

It’s the same smile he gave you when he first confessed to you that he liked _her_ \- the memory rises up almost unprompted- when it had been just the two of you. Usually Kenma would be hanging around, but this time he had favored his own company over that of two sentimental seniors. If you’d known what was coming, you’d have left with him too.

Kuroo had started it. “So there’s this girl.”

Your eyebrows had shot up immediately, more amused than anything at that time. Kuroo had only ever mentioned girls when they’d done something to him, or if there had been something funny he’d overheard. Most often the latter, which was why your mouth quirked upwards as well. “Go on.”

“She’s...” he’d trailed off into silence.

Your eyebrow stayed raised, and your mouth dropped from its wry smile. “She’s what? Or who? Or- you get it.”

He’d smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I really like her...and Yaku said she might like me too.”

You’d blinked at him owlishly. “And since when d’you trust Yaku’s judgement on girls..?”

He’d snorted. “It happens to be completely reliable for everyone other than _him_. I’m thinking about asking her out tomorrow... and you’re the only one who knows for now. If I tell anyone else and get shot down tomorrow I’d be in for it.” An eyebrow wiggles conspiratorially, and you nod.

“Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

You hadn’t been too alarmed back then, especially since Kuroo had a knack for consistently getting turned down by anyone he was actually interested in. Sure, he had his fair share of admirers- not that he really believed they were interested- but none of _them_ were ever his type.

So, it had indeed been a shock to both you and the rest of the team, when Kuroo showed up late to practice the next day, wearing a surprisingly triumphant grin. Yaku had begun yelling the moment he showed up, berating the captain for being the last one to arrive, when he _also_ refused to let anyone else handle the keys. You had been hovering a little behind, next to Kenma, where Kai had been talking to you about the day’s English assignment while they waited. From behind Yaku’s shoulder, you quirked an eyebrow in a silent _what the fuck were you doing?_ to which he waved a hand, meaning that he’d tell you later.

You hadn’t really thought that much of it then. What would the worst case scenario be, that he had to help the ancient Maths teacher find her glasses, like he had done on several occasions before? Yeah, not really a big deal. So it slid almost completely from your mind.

It was when he called you later, after practice had finished, and excitedly asked if you remembered what you two had talked about yesterday, that you felt your heart drop to your knees.

“Did..did it work out? She said yes?”

“Yeah.” He sounded amazingly smug, and you were suddenly filled with the urge to storm over to his house and kick him in the shin. “Apparently she’s liked me ever since last year? Can you believe that?”

“Oh... yeah... nice.” You didnt’t really know what to say, falling into silence as Kuroo chattered on about how sweet and pretty his new girlfriend was... and how they’d be going for a movie over the weekend. He’d invited her to volleyball practice tomorrow, since she apparently _adored_ watching him play... something about how determined and handsome he looked while blocking.

You wished you could tell him to shut up. To stop unconsciously rubbing it in your face, to put down the phone and _leave you alone_. He was now rambling on and on and you weren’t even really sure if he cared that you were no longer listening.

Not really knowing what to do anymore, you slammed the phone down and disconnected the call.

* * *

You’re not sure how Kuroo knew this girl and you didn’t.

Usually, the two of you (and occasionally Kenma) go everywhere together. Your social circles have sort of clashed and fused into one, not that you really have that many friends outside the volleyball team. You know the same people, do the same things, go to the same places... it’s practically the same life, except for the teeny-tiny fact that he’s on a national level volleyball team and you can barely pull yourself together to do a set of push-ups. Not that that matters, right now.

From the looks of it, she’s from what Yaku calls the ‘ee-light’ of Nekoma: the few rich kids, who have somehow ended up here instead of at Itachiyama, probably because Nekoma is their parents’ high school or something like that. She looks as shiny and perfect as a little glass figurine that’s polished on the daily and placed in the window of some super-fancy store with prices too unreasonable to even consider window-shopping there. That’s what you dub her mentally, not really wanting to know her name (and not wanting anyone to find out that you were the only one who didn’t know it yet).

The one thing that bugs you the most, though, is how she’s sitting _in your spot_. The same seat you’ve always settled yourself in, at _just_ the right distance from the court to be able to see everything in perfect clarity, and also avoid being hit in the face by one of Lev’s botched receives. It’s also at the right angle to be able to see both sides of the court equally, and not be blocked by the net either.

You cough quietly, hoping she’d take notice or move. No such luck, she seems genuinely interested in the game and you don’t see why. Nothing really interesting goes on unless someone messes up, and honestly? That’s rare. Watching Nekoma play is enthralling, yes, but you’ve been watching for three years now, and can’t really appreciate anything except the funny bits anymore.

She’s still not budging, and you resign yourself to a seat far too high above to see very much. Huffing irritably, you pull out your phone and do your best to block out the rest of the world.

* * *

Later, Yaku tells you that her name is Mirai and that your first assumptions were right. She _does_ come from a fancy family and is, in his opinion, among the prettiest in the school.

“Not that I _like_ her, though,” he assures you through a mouthful of his lunch. “It’s just an observation.”

You nod, poking at your own food. Somehow, every conversation you’ve had lately seems to be revolving around Mirai. Probably because the only people you bother talking to today are all on the volleyball team, and are pretty surprised that _Kuroo_ , of all people, is the first to get a girlfriend, and are incredibly vocal about it.

You don’t like it at all. Mirai is on your mind enough, without having to put up with her every time you talk to a friend.

Yaku’s monologue tapers to an end, when he notices you barely touching your meal. “Hey. Are you okay?”

“Hm? Yeah. Just kind of tired.”

He nods, but an eyebrow is raised in confusion. “Alright.”

Before he’s got a chance to pursue the topic further, you change the subject to something stupid that a classmate of yours had done in the previous lesson, and Kai chips in here and there with more funny details. He seems to see what you’re trying to do, and you think you could almost cry from thankfulness.

In a good five minutes, Mirai is forgotten, and your lunch is packed up in the bottom of your bag again, almost untouched.

* * *

Kuroo doesn’t call you that night.

You spend a good ten minutes watching your phone out of the corner of your eye, willing it to ring and willing the caller ID to show you his contact name... no such luck, though. You’re getting jittery. Why isn’t he calling? Did something happen? He _always_ calls, and he’s _always_ on time. You can’t remember the last time he’s been late.

You punch in his number and hold it up to your ear, listening to it ring. After a whole ten seconds, the beeping stops and an irritated, but familiar voice fills your ear. “Hello?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah?” He sounds confused. “I was a little busy though, so if you don’t mind...“

You blink. He’s never busy this late; unless it’s homework, of course, but that’s never really stopped him. “Oh. What’s going on?”

He’s silent for a few seconds. “I’m out with Mirai. We went to get dinner together, after practice ended.”

Oh.

Somehow, you find your voice. “That’s okay. So you’ll call me back after you get home?”

“Hm? Yeah, sure. I really need to go now, though... so...”

“Mhm. Bye.”

He ends the call without saying anything else.


End file.
